TMA Hosts Conference on Illicit Trade in Tobacco

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Tobacco Merchants Association One Day Conference on Feb 19

Leesburg, VA (PRWEB)February 18, 2013

TMA Hosts Conference on Illicit Trade in Tobacco

Conference to Examine Various Schemes,
Enforcement Challenges and Public Health Costs

Leesburg, Va. – Feb. 18 – Federal officials, tobacco industry executives, professors and other experts will gather on Feb. 19 to discuss the persistent illicit trade in tobacco products such as large-scale interstate trafficking of tobacco products and the smuggling of cigarettes into the country by criminal organizations.

The one-day conference, to be held at the Lansdowne Resort and Spa in Leesburg, Va., is sponsored by the Tobacco Merchants Association (TMA), an organization dedicated to providing information about the worldwide tobacco industry.

“Despite efforts to halt illicit sales of tobacco products, the practice continues at an alarming pace,” said Farrell Delman, president of the TMA. “Illicit trade undermines a variety of public policy objectives, from lost tax revenues to the public health costs of unregulated ingredients found in counterfeit cigarettes. The conference will analyze the wide range of schemes to engage in illicit trade and what steps can be taken more than three years after enactment of the federal Tobacco Control Act to address illicit trade.”

Topics to be addressed include a case study on the public health cost from illicit trade in Canada; the financial cost, enforcement experiences and challenges in the United States; Native American enforcement issues; and tools to support enforcement. Speakers include representatives of the Government Accountability Office and several federal agencies, and other experts who have studied illicit trade.

A copy of the program agenda is attached.

About the Tobacco Merchants Association

The Tobacco Merchants Association (TMA) was founded in 1915 to manage information of vital interest to interested organizations, companies, regulators and others who need information on the worldwide tobacco industry. Users of TMA information include NGO's such as the World Health Organization, government agencies such as the U.S. Tax and Trade Bureau, and companies in most sectors of the industry including suppliers and allied industries such as the financial, advertising, laboratory, CRO and consulting communities.
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